“The Atmospheric Commons and the Power of Paying Our Debts” (Pages 388-393)

Klein tells of the struggle of the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Montana against plans to expand the coal industry in that region. A rich belt of coal lay under and near their reservation, and the Northern Cheyenne had been fighting off mining companies since the early 1970s. They broke legal ground by arguing that part of their treatise rights to maintain their traditional way of life included breathing clean air, but by 2010, things weren’t looking good. Otter Creek was the biggest new coal mine under consideration in the US, and it seemed certain to go ahead, as did the rail lines alongside the reservation built to transport the coal.

The problem was also internal. With poverty, unemployment, and substance abuse high on the reservation, some of the tribe argued it was time to make a deal with the coal company and use the money to support the community. Charlene Alden, director of the tribe’s Environmental Protection Office, thought otherwise. She argued that taking the coal money would only drive their people further away from their identity and cause more misery. She knew they needed another way out of poverty and started investigating green development projects that might provide jobs and essential infrastructure for the community, including building energy-efficient housing and installing renewable energy alternatives.